Mnangagwa is a small boy — Tsvangirai

OPPOSITION MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday took a swipe at Vice-President Emmerson Mnangangwa describing him as a “small boy” with no political clout to challenge for the Presidency.

BY OBEY MANAYITI

Addressing a No reforms No Elections campaign rally in Kuwadzana, Harare, Tsvangirai said: “I told Mnangagwa one word that I don’t compete with you. 1st division does not compete with 4th division.”

“If (the 2018) elections come with Mnangagwa as President, I will give him (former Kwekwe Central MP Blessing) Chebundo. I beat (President Robert) Mugabe and then Mnangagwa, please let’s be fair. Chebundo trounced Mnangagwa in two successive elections for the Kwekwe Central seat before the latter relocated to Zibagwe-Chirumanzu constituency.

“That man doesn’t even have a vision, he doesn’t have a clue. The man is empty,” he said.

This comes amid reports that Mnangagwa was angling to succeed Mugabe. The former Premier also blasted pioneers of the Organisation of African Unity which has since been renamed African Union accusing them of only fighting for political freedom at the expense of other basic freedoms including economic emancipation. He singled out the late Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah of letting down the continent by seeking political freedom at the expense of economic freedom.

“The leader of Ghana said seek ye the political freedom first and everything will follow, but is that true or is that prophetic? Seek ye everything first not only the political freedom but also economic freedom.

“Was Nkrumah right? Was he wrong? He was very wrong because he set a very bad vision. Political freedom without economic freedom is wrong,” Tsvangirai said.

“Zimbabwe in 1980 got political freedom, but in 2015 we are all crying for economic freedom. There is nothing in that. People don’t eat the flag or the national anthem, but they want jobs.

“The liberation struggle is gone and what is left is the fight to get economic freedom,” said Tsvangirai. He said Mugabe’s generation had now overstayed and should pass the baton to younger generations-Newsday